Hydrofoils have been used on surfboards (U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,378 A, Bateman; U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,138, Morgan; U.S. Pat. No. 7,144,285 B1, Tareah), sailboards (U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,046 Shannon), water skis (U.S. Pat. No. 7,232,355, Woolley), and devices for swimmers (U.S. Pat. No. 2,931,332, Hebrank) as well as ships and boats (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,123 A Voigt). The purpose of hydrofoils on surfboards is typically to enable higher speeds and to lift the surfboard above the choppy, turbulent surface of the water, thus enabling surfing on larger waves. On sailboards and kiteboards, hydrofoils enable higher speeds; and on water skis hydrofoils enable new forms of trick skiing.
Powered surfboards have been developed for reducing the effort required in paddling (U.S. Pat. No. 7,731,555 B2 Railey) and as personal watercraft (U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,634 B2 Jung, U.S. Pat. No. 3,262,413 A Bloomingdale et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,817 B1 Dec, U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,586 A Walsh, U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,357 A Dawson). A particularly well-designed example of this type is the Jet-Surf (http://www.jet-surf.es). However, significant power is required to achieve speeds typical of surfing (up to ten horsepower to achieve thirty miles per hour), precluding the use of battery-powered motors for operationally useful periods.
A major factor that distinguishes surfboards from other watercraft is that control (both speed and directional) is affected via weight shift rather than by moveable surfaces (such as rudders) or thrust vectoring. Indeed, other methods of transport (skateboards and snowboards) also rely heavily on weight shift, and this method of control is central to the experience of surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding.
An electrically powered hydrofoil device is described in Chen (U.S. Pat. No. 7,047,901 B2). The watercraft in that disclosure has two main disadvantages. First, the device in Chen requires a stabilizing component that controls the depth of the hydrofoil. Second, a steering mechanism is used for directional control. Therefore it does not (and cannot) accurately mimic the experience of surfing or snowboarding.
A need therefore exists for a personal watercraft that provides improved control and performance while providing a “surfing feel.” In addition, this personal watercraft should be mechanically simple, easy to transport, and easy to maintain.